Victorian Easter Greetings

In the late 1800's the halfpenny postage stamp was introduced in England and the craze for sending greetings cards, especially at Christmas and Easter, began.

Favourite topics on Easter postcards were bunnies, eggs, kittens and children. 

Wealthy ladies enjoyed creating scrapbook albums as keepsakes for their families and friends.

It wasn't only in England that sending cards was a popular pastime,

 the craze travelled to the Continent too.

Over the years I've gathered a small collection of these pretty keepsakes.

My favourites are the ones that I discovered in French flea markets. 

They always make me smile

 displayed on the mantlepiece, a sweet addition to my Easter décor.

The stars of the show this week in my garden.

Grape hyacinth.

Daffodils

Deep red camellia.

Rhubarb,

" Every spring is the only spring,

a perpetual astonishment "

Ellis Peters

Leisurely Funchal, Madeira.

After cruising through the night and most of the next day we reached our first port of call, Funchal, Madeira late afternoon

We joined fellow passengers for our first excursion and were soon leaving Funchal behind as we climbed to our first stop Eira do Serrado one of the most beautiful locations in Madeira.

Eira do Serrado lies at the very centre of the island at an impressive elevation of 3,592 feet. However, thick low clouds enveloped the central massif and the incredible view down the valley was not to be.

Instead, at a local inn/store, we were treated to a tasting of a Portuguese liqueur "ginja", some of the party enjoyed the taste but I found it too sweet and cloying. As well as the typical souvenir samples for sale there was a very impressive display of bottles dating back many years . 

We didn't buy any but in typical tourist fashion we bought the T shirt!

Our next stop was lower down the mountain at the Pico dos Barcelos, 1100 feet above sea level, where we enjoyed the panoramic view over Funchal Bay, the city and a glimpse of the rocky Desertas Islands in the background before returning to the ship.